Presiding Member Dr Inder Jit Singh restored District Forum, Almora’s 2018 ruling by which Airtel had been directed to pay ₹2,87,630 to the complainant Shyam Kumar along with a compensation of ₹1 Lakh and ₹15,000 litigation cost.
In 2017, an unknown person fraudulently obtained a SIM card with the same mobile number as that of the Army man and withdrew ₹2,87,630 from his bank account.
The Commission found Airtel to have failed to perform its due diligence in verifying the identity of the individual who had obtained the duplicate SIM, and concluded that the same had directly facilitated the fraud.
“We are of the considered view that a reasonable standard of care was not maintained by the OPs (respondents/Bharti Airtel). A prudent service provider should have matched the existing documents of the complainant with those submitted for the duplicate SIM request. The failure to ensure this verification led to the issuance of the duplicate SIM, which enabled subsequent fraudulent activities,” it said.
Source: Barandbench
